Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday, in a blistering and
\nexcoriating 13-page statement has called on President Muhammadu Buhari not
\nto seek re-election in 2019.
\nMr. Obasanjo, in a special press statement entitled, \u201cThe Wat Out: A
\nClarion Call for Coalition for Nigeria Movement\u201d said Mr Buhari has
\nperformed far below expectation and should honourably \u201cdismount from the
\nhorse\u201d to join the league of the country\u2019s former leaders whose
\n\u201cexperience, influence, wisdom and outreach can be deployed on the side
\nline for the good of the country.\u201d
\nMr Obasanjo, a two-term president on the platform of People Democratic
\nParty (PDP), said he feels disappointed by Mr Buhari, whom he supported
\nduring the 2015 election over then incumbent and candidate of his former
\nparty, Goodluck Jonathan.
\nMr Obasanjo had written a condemnatory open letter in December 2013 titled
\n\u201cBefore it is Too Late\u201d where he highlighted the numerous failings of the
\nMr Jonathan administration.
\nMr Obasanjo argued that his decision to go against Mr Jonathan, at the
\ntime was the right one as events in the last three years have since
\nproved, was for the good of the nation and nothing personal.
\n\u201cEven the horse rider then, with whom I maintain very cordial, happy and
\nsocial relationship today has come to realise his mistakes and regretted
\nit publicly and I admire his courage and forthrightness in this regard,\u201d
\nMr. Obasanjo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a role to play on the side line for the good of Nigeria, Africa
\nand humanity and I will see him as a partner in playing such a role
\nnationally and internationally, but not as a horse rider in Nigeria
\nagain.\u201d
\nLikening the state of the nation to lice-invested clothes, he said the
\ncountry\u2019s fingernails is stained with blood as it tries to kill the lice
\nby pressing them in-between two fingernails. According to him, in other to
\nmake sure that our fingernails remains blood-free we must do what it takes
\nrid our clothes of lice.
\n\u201cThe lice of poor performance in government \u2013 poverty, insecurity, poor
\neconomic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of
\nmisdeed \u2013 if not outright encouragement of it, lack of progress and hope
\nfor the future, lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal
\npolitical dynamics and widening inequality \u2013 are very much with us today,\u201d
\nhe wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith such lice of general and specific poor performance and crying
\npoverty with us, our fingers will not be dry of \u2018blood\u2019,\u201d he added.
\nWhile thanking Mr Buhari for the effort of his administration in rolling
\nback the Boko Haram insurgency and his fight against corruption, Mr
\nObasanjo said Mr Buhari has ultimately failed in other areas where he had
\nthought he would be efficient.
\nThe octogenarian, who bagged a PhD over the weekend, admitted he knew Mr
\nBuhari was weak in handling the economy, he went ahead and voted for him
\nbecause at the time \u201cit was a matter of \u2018any option but Jonathan\u2019\u201d and
\nbecause he thought Mr Buhari would appoint qualified Nigerians to help out
\nin that area.
\nHe slammed Mr Buhari for turning a blind eye to corruption within his
\ngovernment saying it amounted to condonation and cover-up saying whoever
\nis \u201cgoing to justice must be with clean hands.\u201d
\nHe also berated Mr Buhari for allowing the clashes between herdsmen and
\nfarmers to go \u201csour\u201d and messy saying the endorsement of the President by
\nsome governors to seek re-election barely 24 hours after 73 people who
\nwere killed by herdsmen in Benue State were given mass burial was \u201ca sad
\nsymptom of insensitivity and callousness.\u201d
\nBut Mr Obasanjo reserved his harshest words for what he described as Mr
\nBuhari\u2019s clannishness, lack of understanding of the dynamics of politics,
\nand his tendencies to pass the buck of his government\u2019s inadequacies to
\nthe immediate past administration.
\n\u201cBut there are three other areas where President Buhari has come out more
\nglaringly than most of us thought we knew about him.\u00a0 One is nepotic
\ndeployment bordering on clannishness and inability to bring discipline to
\nbear on errant members of his nepotic court.\u00a0 This has grave consequences
\non performance of his government to the detriment of the nation.\u00a0 It would
\nappear that national interest was being sacrificed on the altar of nepotic
\ninterest.\u00a0 What does one make of a case like that of Maina: collusion,
\ncondonation, ineptitude, incompetence, dereliction of responsibility or
\nkinship and friendship on the part of those who should have taken visible
\nand deterrent disciplinary action?\u00a0 How many similar cases are buried,
\nignored or covered up and not yet in the glare of the media and the
\npublic?
\n\u201cThe second is his poor understanding of the dynamics of internal
\npolitics.\u00a0 This has led to wittingly or unwittingly making the nation more
\ndivided and inequality has widened and become more pronounced.\u00a0 It also
\nhas effect on general national security.
\n\u201cThe third is passing the buck.\u00a0 For instance, blaming the Governor of the
\nCentral Bank for devaluation of the naira by 70% or so and blaming past
\ngovernments for it, is to say the least, not accepting one\u2019s own
\nresponsibility.\u00a0 Let nobody deceive us, economy feeds on politics and
\nbecause our politics is depressing, our economy is even more depressing
\ntoday.\u00a0 If things were good, President Buhari would not need to come in.
\nHe was voted to fix things that were bad and not engage in the blame
\ngame.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buhari and the APC do not have the answer<\/p>\n
Mr Obasanjo thus argued that neither Mr Buhari nor his party, the All
\nProgressives Congress hold the solution to the country\u2019s problems. He
\nsuggested that Mr Buhari was not healthy enough to withstand the rigour
\nassociated with running a country like Nigeria neither does his party
\ncapable of providing the answer needed to sail the country through its
\ndifficulties.
\nMr Obasanjo said Buhari should step down at the end of his first term with
\nhonour and dignity and attend to his health and should not listen to the
\nhis \u201cself-serving so-called adviserswho would claim that they love him
\nmore than God loves him and that without him, there would be no Nigeria
\nsay.\u201d
\n\u201cPresident Buhari needs a dignified and honourable dismount from the
\nhorse. He needs to have time to reflect, refurbish physically and recoup
\nand after appropriate rest, once again, join the stock of Nigerian leaders
\nwhose experience, influence, wisdom and outreach can be deployed on the
\nside line for the good of the country.\u00a0 His place in history is already
\nassured.\u00a0 Without impaired health and strain of age, running the affairs
\nof Nigeria is a 25\/7 affair, not 24\/7.
\n\u201cI only appeal to brother Buhari to consider a deserved rest at this point
\nin time and at this age.\u00a0 I continue to wish him robust health to enjoy
\nhis retirement from active public service.\u00a0 President Buhari does not
\nnecessarily need to heed my advice.\u00a0 But whether or not he heeds it,
\nNigeria needs to move on and move forward,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI have had occasion in the past to say that the two main political
\nparties \u2013 APC and PDP \u2013 were wobbling.\u00a0 I must reiterate that nothing has
\nhappened to convince me otherwise.\u00a0 If anything, I am reinforced in my
\nconviction.\u00a0 The recent show of PDP must give grave and great concern to
\nlovers of Nigeria.
\n\u201cTo claim, as has been credited to the chief kingmaker of PDP, that for
\nprocuring the Supreme Court judgement for his faction of the Party, he
\nmust dictate the tune all the way and this is indeed fraught with danger.
\n\u201cIf neither APC nor PDP is a worthy horse to ride to lead Nigeria at this
\ncrucial and critical time, what then do we do?\u00a0 Remember Farooq Kperogi,
\nan Associate Professor at the Kennesaw State University, Georgia, United
\nStates, calls it \u201ca cruel Hobson\u2019s choice; it\u2019s like a choice between six
\nand half a dozen, between evil and evil. Any selection or deflection would
\nbe a distinction without a difference.\u201d\u00a0 We cannot just sit down lamenting
\nand wringing our hands desperately and hopelessly.
\nCoalition of Nigerians
\nHaving ruled out the PDP and the ruling APC of possessing the panacea to
\nthe malaise that ails the country, Mr Obasanjo therefore called for a
\nmovement he termed Coalition of Nigeria, which he offered to be a part of,
\nto wrest power from the present ruling class and lead the country into the
\npath of rebirth.
\n\u201cWe can collectively save ourselves from the position we find ourselves.
\nIt will not come through self-pity, fruitless complaint or protest but
\nthrough constructive and positive engagement and collective action for the
\ngood of our nation and ourselves and our children and their children. We
\nneed moral re-armament and engaging togetherness of people of like-mind
\nand goodwill to come solidly together to lift Nigeria up.\u00a0 This is no time
\nfor trading blames or embarking on futile argument and neither should we
\naccept untenable excuses for non-performance.
\n\u201cLet us accept that the present administration has done what it can do to
\nthe limit of its ability, aptitude and understanding. Let the
\nadministration and its political party platform agree with the rest of us
\nthat what they have done and what they are capable of doing is not good
\nenough for us.\u00a0 They have given as best as they have and as best as they
\ncan give.\u00a0 Nigeria deserves and urgently needs better than what they have
\ngiven or what we know they are capable of giving.\u00a0 To ask them to give
\nmore will be unrealistic and will only sentence Nigeria to a prison term
\nof four years if not destroy it beyond the possibility of an early
\nrecovery and substantial growth.
\n\u201cThe development and modernization of our country and society must be
\nanchored and sustained on dynamic Nigerian culture, enduring values and an
\nenchanting Nigerian dream.\u00a0 We must have abiding faith in our country and
\nits role and place within the comity of nations.\u00a0 Today, Nigeria needs all
\nhands on deck.\u00a0 All hands of men and women of goodwill must be on deck.
\nWe need all hands to move our country forward.
\n\u201cWe need a Coalition for Nigeria, CN. Such a Movement at this juncture
\nneeds not be a political party but one to which all well-meaning Nigerians
\ncan belong.\u00a0 That Movement must be a coalition for democracy, good
\ngovernance, social and economic well-being and progress.\u00a0 Coalition to
\nsalvage and redeem our country.\u00a0 You can count me with such a Movement.
\nLast time, we asked, prayed and worked for change and God granted our
\nrequest.\u00a0 This time, we must ask, pray and work for change with unity,
\nsecurity and progress. And God will again grant us.\u00a0 Of course, nothing
\nshould stop such a Movement from satisfying conditions for fielding
\ncandidates for elections.\u00a0 But if at any stage the Movement wishes to
\nmetamorphose into candidate-sponsoring Movement for elections, I will bow
\nout of the Movement because I will continue to maintain my non-partisan
\nposition.\u00a0 Coalition for Nigeria must have its headquarters in Abuja.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Coalition for Nigeria will be a Movement that will drive Nigeria up
\nand forward.\u00a0 It must have a pride of place for all Nigerians,
\nparticularly for our youth and our women.\u00a0 It is a coalition of hope for
\nall Nigerians for speedy, quality and equal development, security, unity,
\nprosperity and progress.\u00a0 It is a coalition to banish poverty, insecurity
\nand despair.\u00a0 Our country must not be oblivious to concomitant danger
\naround, outside and ahead.\u00a0 Coalition for Nigeria must be a Movement to
\nbreak new ground in building a united country, a socially-cohesive and
\nmoderately prosperous society with equity, equality of opportunity,
\njustice and a dynamic and progressive economy that is self-reliant and
\ntakes active part in global division of labour and international
\ndecision-making.
\n\u201cThe Movement must work out the path of development and the trajectory of
\ndevelopment in speed, quality and equality in the short- medium- and
\nlong-term for Nigeria on the basis of sustainability, stability,
\npredictability, credibility, security, cooperation and prosperity with
\ndiminishing inequality.\u00a0 What is called for is love, commitment and
\ninterest in our country, not in self, friends and kinship alone but
\nparticularly love, compassion and interest in the poor, underprivileged
\nand downtrodden.\u00a0 It is our human duty and responsibility so to do.
\nFailure to do this will amount to a sin against God and a crime against
\nhumanity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Premium Times<\/p>\n
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday, in a blistering and excoriating 13-page statement has called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019. Mr. Obasanjo, in a special…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n